Irving apologizes to LeBron for being a naive, young player in Cleveland

Irving apologizes to LeBron for being a naive, young player in Cleveland

Last updated Jan 17, 2019

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Miles Morales

It seems that Kyrie Irving’s stint in Boston has given him the perspective of what it’s like to be a leader in the NBA.

After Irving led the Celtics in escaping the East’s best Toronto Raptors, 117-108, the All-Star point guard revealed that he phoned LeBron James recently to apologize for his behavior when they played side-by-side in Cleveland.

Irving recently pointed criticisms on Boston’s young players and coaching staff after their loss to Orlando Magic.

“Obviously, this was a big deal for me, because I had to call [LeBron] and tell him I apologized for being that young player that wanted everything at his fingertips, and I wanted everything at my threshold,” Irving said.

“I wanted to be the guy that led us to a championship. I wanted to be the leader. I wanted to be all that, and the responsibility of being the best in the world and leading your team is something that is not meant for many people,” he added.

Kyrie Irving says he called LeBron James after the Celtics’ loss to the Magic to apologize for “being that young player that wanted everything at his fingertips.” Naturally, there were a lot of follow-up q’s and he told us all to relax. pic.twitter.com/d4zeRKUbA5

Irving said LeBron “was one of those guys who came to Cleveland and tried to show us how to win a championship, and it was hard for him, and sometimes getting the most out of the group is not the easiest thing in the world.”

It can be recalled that Irving had to adapt to taking a backseat to LeBron after being the face of the Cavaliers from 2011 until 2014.

He also had to deal with a lot of the criticism that came with the territory. It was never LeBron’s fault in Cleveland.

But now, it seems as Irving gets older and gains more experience as the Celtics’ leader, he’s starting to gain perspective on what LeBron had to go through when he had to handle a young and inexperienced player.